blessing

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English blessinge, also blessunge,^[2][3] inherited from Old English bletsung, also bledsung,^[4][5][3][6] the verbal noun of blētsian (“to consecrate”),^[6][5][7] the source of bless; the OED and the Shorter Oxford analyse the English word as the verb with the suffix -ing.^[8][9] The verb, in Northumbrian bloedsian, has no counterpart elsewhere in Germanic.^[8][5][10] Ayto reconstructs it as Proto-Germanic *blōthisōjan, a derivative of the word for blood,^[10] *blōþą,^[5][8] so that it first meant to mark or consecrate with blood.^[8][10][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Hallowing or consecration, and the bestowal of divine favour: Old English, in the OED's first quotations from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Vespasian Psalter.^[8] Dictionary.com dates the noun to before 900,^[3] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged to before the 12th century.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The verb's sense history was shaped by its choice at the English conversion to translate Latin benedīcō and Ancient Greek εὐλογέω (eulogéō),^[8] which themselves had been used to render a Hebrew verb for worship and praise.^[5] Late in the Old English period the meaning moved towards making happy or prosperous, under the influence of the unrelated word bliss.^[5][10] In Middle English the noun covered divine grace and the sanction of the Pope or a priest,^[2][5] and a parent's goodwill.^[2] From the mid-14th century it could also be a gift from God, or anything that does one good,^[8][5] and this led to the secular senses: Johnson (1755) lists "any of the means of happiness; a gift; an advantage; a benefit".^[11] Bible translators used it from 1382 for a present, a Hebraism that died out after 1611.^[8] Blessing for grace at a meal is recorded from 1738,^[8][5] and a blessing in disguise from 1746.^[8][5] From the 1780s it was slang for the small extra quantity that a dealer gave a customer,^[12] a use recorded by the English Dialect Dictionary in Staffordshire and Shropshire,^[13] and an Irish use for a tip is recorded in 1909.^[12]

Timeline

• before 900 – hallowing, consecration (obsolete after 1275); the bestowal or invocation of divine favour; the form of words for it.^[3][8]
• 1340 – a gift of God or nature; anything that makes one happy or prosperous.^[8][5]
• 1382 – a gift or present (obsolete after 1611); the rendering of grateful adoration, both in the Wycliffite Bible.^[8]
• c. 1400 – plural, the Beatitudes (until 1588).^[8]
• 1550 – the making of the sign of the cross (until 1563).^[8]
• 1572 – a charm or spell.^[8]
• 1738 – a prayer over food.^[8][5]
• 1746 – a blessing in disguise, a misfortune that turns out well.^[8][5]
• c. 1786 – a little extra given by a dealer over the measure.^[12]
• 1909 – in Irish use, a tip or gratuity.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of asking for divine protection or favour, or the words or ceremony used for this; benediction: The bishop gave his blessing to the new school.^[14][6][9]
2. Approval or encouragement: The mayor gave the plan her blessing.^[14][6]
3. Something that brings happiness or welfare; a boon: Rain was a blessing after the long drought.^[6][8][9]
4. The bestowal of divine favour.^[14][8]
5. A short prayer of thanks before or after a meal; grace.^[14][6]
6. (Judaism) A short prayer set for a particular occasion; a section of the liturgy with a similar formula.^[14]
7. (obsolete, Old English–1275) Consecration, hallowing.^[8][9]
8. (obsolete, 1382–1611) A gift or favour, a present.^[8][9]

Word family

• mixed blessing

Related words

• bless
• blood
• bliss

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
4. ^ Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
13. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
14. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins